Official says man tried to breach cockpit door ADVERTISING Official says man tried to breach cockpit door HONOLULU (AP) — A law enforcement official says a man who caused a disturbance on a flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu on
Official says man tried to breach cockpit door
HONOLULU (AP) — A law enforcement official says a man who caused a disturbance on a flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu on Friday attempted to access the cockpit of the plane.
The official spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The official says the man “tried to breach the cockpit door” and was taken into custody by federal agents when the plane landed. The flight crew of American Airlines Flight 31 requested law enforcement officers meet the plane upon landing. according to airline spokeswoman Katie Cody.
The official said the man is likely to face federal charges. The suspect was being detained Friday afternoon.
The flight landed at 11:35 a.m. in Honolulu.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was briefed about the incident.
No other information about the disturbance was immediately available.
There were 181 passengers and six crew members, she said. Cody was not aware of injuries.
Suit seeks to stop hotel renovation after bodies found
HONOLULU (AP) — The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. has filed a lawsuit to temporarily stop the renovation of a Waikiki hotel after the remains of two people were found below an elevator shaft.
The lawsuit was filed last week. It calls the Pacific Beach Hotel property a “burial site for Native Hawaiians during lengthy pre-contact and post-contact periods of time,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported (http://bit.ly/2q3KKTX ).
The firm also writes in the lawsuit that it believes the state Department of Land and Natural Resources undermined a Hawaii law set in place to protect burials.
The firm wants a survey to be done to check for more human burials, and it wants the Oahu Island Burial Council involved.
The firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of Oahu resident Paulette Kaleikini, who has been involved in other cases protecting burial remains. She is a recognized cultural descendant of Hawaiians who long ago lived in the area where the hotel now resides.
“She is very concerned that more kupuna (ancestors) will be impacted should the project continue without a proper survey,” the firm wrote in a statement.
The hotel’s renovations are being done while it is still open. All 839 guest rooms have been refurbished, the “Oceanarium” is being renovated and a new pool deck and two restaurants are being added, among other additions.
The renovations also include excavating five to eight feet down to accommodate utilities.
Representatives of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the hotel did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Native Hawaiian men stake claim to abandoned hotel property
LIHUE, Kauai (AP) — A judge has decided not to forcibly remove a couple of Native Hawaiian men from an abandoned hotel property on the island of Kauai.
The two men have staked their claim to the property that they say is theirs through royal patent. The men claim they own the land as descendants of Kauai’s last ruler.
According to the prosecuting attorney, however, Coco Palms owns the property. The state filed the motion to remove the men, claiming they have been trespassing since March 2017.
“According to the tax map key, which is maintained by the state and the county of Kauai, it does list the properties are owned by Coco Palms Hui LLC,” said Ashley Uyeno-Lee, district prosecuting attorney.
The tax map can have inaccuracies, though, Judge Michael Soong said.
“There are transactions that occur that are not updated immediately,” Soong said.
Noa Mau-Espirito, one of the men who have been staying on the property, told the court the motion would be a violation.
“In order for that to happen, title over the property would have to be confirmed,” he said. “This court is a limited court to decide title issue in Hawaii. In order for that to be legal, we need to clear the title issue. The title of issue would have to be confirmed first before they can ex parte me from the property.”
Soong said if he approved the motion to remove the men, then he would have been skipping the civil process of proving property ownership. He said the proper course of action would be for the complainants to file a civil ejectment action.
